Mongolian travel diary

The association ‘The Fields of Man’ organizes the Hos Ayas festival in Mongolia (23 August-6 September 2008). Alain Arsac, half of the Fatch d’Eux duo from Provence, gave us a musical report and his travel diary.

Aim of the project : to initiate a creative dialogue between French groups (La Mal Coiffée, Fisto, PHM, Sam and Fred of the Ogres de Barback) and Mongolian bands (Altan Urag, Altaï Khangaï, Nomadic Winds, Mc Mo and Snep). Thanks to the financial support of the organization travel, accommodation and food costs were covered for the artists and volunteers (the latter paid their own airfares).

Arrival at Oulan-Bator on the 23 August : press conference with national TV and radio. Our first evening, our first vodkas…

24 August : departure for Kharkhorin, the ancient capital founded by Genghis Khan. After a nine hour bus journey through fabulous landscapes we arrive at a lovely, comfortable traditional yurt camp.

25 August : the beginning of an 8 day residence in an old theatre, built in the Soviet style. Happy surprise – the yurts set up around it will be our workshop spaces. A few days are needed to get a feel for each other’s music, to start making creative connections and find our direction. Mixing accordion, diphthongal voices, zabumba, guitar, violin (made from a horse’s head), beat box and harp, is sometimes a complicated business. ..In the theatre, a recording studio is set up - with a view to recording these encounters on a record which will be released soon.

1st September in Kharkhorin : the first concert is a popular success, we played to a packed house! The Mongolians take evident pleasure in coming to see and hear the exchanges between these very different musicians. In the end, we did pretty well! PHM and Fisto played the traditional melodies and songs of Altaï Khangaï and the Nomadic Winds with disconcerting ease. The public were stunned by Beat Box from Marseilles! Their work with MC Mo and Snep is brilliant. In a very beautiful encounter, French and Mongolian improvisations mix together fantastically. Sam, Fred and La Mal Coiffée seduce everybody with their colourful singing and popular melodies. They play with all the Mongolian artists, and give the public some superb musical moments – light, intense, generous and brotherly! Their meeting with Alain Urag is a real wonder. In general, the Mongolian public was a very curious, attentive and impassioned audience. The festival team achieved their goal - to create a free, popular and excellent event.

Return to Oulan-Bator on the 3rd Sept, and concert at UB Palace on the 4th Sept : despite a few organizational challenges presented by the locale, the Mongolian capital gave a very warm welcome to the artists. The next day we played our last concert in Zunraja, in the north of Mongolia, and had another successful night. Returning to Oulan-Bator the day before our departure, the musicians performed in an orphanage. The audience there were very appreciative, it was a rare, moving experience for everyone. A magic, touching end to a successful trip.

A live album of the festival concerts, produced by Dume, will be released by IOT Records in early 2009.

The festival website: www.leschampsdelhomme.com

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